Raffi Boghosyan (in Bulgarian Рафи Бохосян, in Armenian Րաֆֆի Պողոսյան) (born in Burgas, Bulgaria on 29 January 1993) is a Bulgarian singer and percussions player of Armenian origin who won the first-ever Bulgarian X Factor on the final held on 11 December 2011.^[1][2][3] He won a contract with Virginia Records and the chance to record a single with a foreign composer and producer in a studio outside Bulgaria.

Boghosian (sometimes reported in Bulgarian media as Bohosyan) was born in Burgas to Aghasi and Elizabeth Boghosyan, both Armenians. He studied in Business in Burgas majoring in Economics and Management. He is a self-thought percussion player. He is also interested in photography, martial arts and activities and is the President of "Младежки глас" (Youth Voice) Cultural Association.

References[link]

The British undergraduate degree classification system is a grading scheme for undergraduate degrees (bachelor's degrees and integrated master's degrees) in the United Kingdom. The system has been applied (sometimes with significant variations) in other countries, such as Australia, Bangladesh, Barbados, Canada, Hong Kong, India, Ireland, Jamaica, Kenya, Malaysia, Malta, Mauritius, Nepal, New Zealand, Nigeria, Pakistan, Singapore, Sri Lanka, South Africa and Trinidad and Tobago.^{[citation needed]}

The Latin honors system used in the United States is different but has some similarities.

Degree classification[link]

A degree may be awarded with or without honours, with the class of an honours degree based on the average mark of the assessed work a candidate has completed. Below is a list of the possible classifications with common abbreviations. Honours degrees are in bold.

• First class honours (1st)
• Second class honours, upper division (2:1)
• Second class honours, lower division (2:2)
• Third class honours (3rd)
• Ordinary degree (Pass)

At most institutions the system allows a small amount of discretion and candidates may be elevated to the next degree class if their average mark is close to, or the median of their weighted marks achieves the higher class and they have submitted many pieces of work worthy of the higher class. However they may be demoted a class if they fail to pass all parts of the course even if they have a high average.

There are also variations between universities (especially in Scotland, where honours are usually reserved only for courses lasting four years or more, with a three-year course leading to the awarding of an Ordinary degree; see Master of Arts (Scotland)) and requirements other than the required average mark are often needed to be awarded honours. (In Scotland it is possible to start University a year younger than in the rest of the United Kingdom as the Scottish Highers exams are often taken at age 17, not 18, so four-year courses end at the same age as a three-year course elsewhere in the UK, assuming no gap years.)

When a candidate is awarded a degree with honours, "(Hons)" may be suffixed to their designatory letters, e.g. BA(Hons), BSc(Hons), MA(Hons). An MA(Hons) would generally indicate a degree award from certain Scottish universities. However, honours are awarded when 360 tariff points are achieved (typically 6 modules at 20 credits each per year), with a non honours degree requiring at least 300 tariff points^{[citation needed]}.

At Oxford and Cambridge, honours classes apply to examinations, not to degrees. Thus, in Cambridge, where undergraduates are examined at the end of each part (one- or two-year section) of the tripos, a student may receive different classifications for different parts. The degree itself does not formally have a class.^[1] Most Cambridge graduates use the class of the final part as the class of the degree,^{[citation needed]} but this is an informal usage. At Oxford, where examinations are split between Honour Moderations or Prelims in the first part, and the Final Honour School in the second, it is the results of the Final Honour School results that are generally applied to the degree.

At some universities, candidates who successfully complete one or more years of degree-level study, but do not complete the full degree course, may be awarded a lower qualification: a Certificate of Higher Education or Higher National Certificate for one year of study, or a Diploma of Higher Education or Higher National Diploma for two years.

The Graduateship (post-nominal GCGI) and Associateship (post-nominal ACGI) awarded by the City & Guilds of London Institute are mapped to a British Honours degree.

The Engineering Council Graduate Diploma is set at the same level as the final year of a British BEng.

First-class honours[link]

First-class honours degrees (often simply referred to as a "first") are usually the highest level of degree awarded and indicate high academic achievement. In 2010/11, about 15 % of all degree candidates graduated with first-class honours.

The percentages of graduates achieving a first vary greatly by university and course studied. For instance, firsts in Maths, Literature, Physics, Chemistry, Computer Science, Engineering or Law are less frequent.^[2]

A minority of universities award first-class honours with particular distinction, informally known as a "Starred First" (Cambridge, York, UEA) or a "Congratulatory First" (Oxford). Rarer variants also exist, indicating exceptional distinction; at Cambridge sometimes a "Double Starred First" or even "Triple Starred First" may be awarded; this should not be confused with "Double first-class honours", below.^[3]

Upper second-class honours[link]

The upper division is commonly abbreviated to 2:1 (pronounced two-one). The 2:1 is a minimum requirement for entry to many postgraduate courses in the UK. It is also required for the award of a research council postgraduate studentship in the UK, although possession of a masters degree can render a candidate eligible for an award if his or her first degree is below 2:1 standard.

The percentage of candidates who achieve upper second-class honours can vary widely by degree subject as well as university.^[4]

Lower second-class honours[link]

This is the second division of second class degrees and is abbreviated as 2:2 (pronounced two-two). This is generally the lowest level of degree with which a graduate can go on to postgraduate programmes (although not usually in medical or natural sciences) or graduate recruitment schemes of major companies.

Third-class honours[link]

Third-class honours is the lowest honours classification in most modern universities. Historically, Oxford awarded fourth-class honours degrees, and until the late 1970s did not distinguish between "upper seconds" (2:1s) and "lower seconds" (2:2s). Roughly 7.2% of students graduating in 2006 with an honours degree received a Third.^[4][5]

Ordinary degree[link]

An Ordinary degree is a pass degree without honours. A number of universities offer ordinary degree courses to students, but most students enroll in honours degree courses. Some honours courses permit students who fail the first year by a small margin (around 10%) to transfer to the Ordinary degree. Ordinary degrees are sometimes awarded to honours degree students who do not complete an honours degree course to the very end but complete enough of it to earn a pass.

Scottish universities offer Ordinary degrees as a qualification in its own right, which last three years, as well as an honours degree over four years. This is in contrast to English universities that have honours degree with three years of study, though a similar programme in Scotland is not unheard of, provided a high entrance grade is achieved. An Ordinary degree from a Scottish university (also known as a designated degree) is often sufficient to study a post graduate course.

An Ordinary degree in Scotland is not therefore, as in England, a failed honours degree. Students can decide, usually at the end of their second or third year, whether or not they wish to complete a fourth honours year. Scottish universities may also award their Ordinary degrees with 'distinction' if a student achieves a particularly good grade average, usually 65% or above. A common example of a Scottish Ordinary degree is the Bachelor of Laws course taken by graduates of other subjects, as this is sufficient (without honours) for entry to the legal profession.

Uncommon degree classifications[link]

Double first-class honours[link]

A "double first" at Oxford and Cambridge originally referred to first-class honours in two subjects in the same set of examinations, usually the Classical and Mathematical Triposes in Cambridge or the Literae Humaniores and Mathematics Final Honour Schools in Oxford. It was also possible to obtain "double firsts" at Honour Moderations. It is no longer possible for undergraduates to read two subjects concurrently at Cambridge. The expression is used at Cambridge to describe first-class honours "in two sets of examinations corresponding to two different (sic) Parts of Triposes".^[6] The two parts of a Tripos come at different points in an undergraduate's career.

At Oxford, the term "double first" can signify that a candidate has achieved First Class Honours in both subjects of a Joint Honours degree and it is sometimes used to describe first-class honours in Honour Moderations and the Final Honour School, usually in the same subject.

Aegrotat[link]

A candidate who is unable to take his or her exams because of illness can sometimes be awarded an aegrotat degree; this is an honours degree without classification, awarded on the understanding that had the candidate been well, he or she would have obtained honours.

International comparisons[link]

An approximate mapping between British classifications and US Grade Point Averages can be inferred from the University College London graduate admissions criteria.^[7] Canadian GPAs differ; the British Graduate Admissions Fact Sheet from McGill University states that in their system, where standings are reported in lieu of an average, a CGPA (cumulative grade point average) is determined.^[8] However, different universities convert grades differently. UCL's system is at odds with LSE, which for example considers GPA (US) of 3.5 as equivalent to a 2.1.^[9] Also most Oxbridge departments consider a 3.75 the equivalent of a First; see for instance English Language and Literature post graduate requirement at Oxford.^[10] Grade equivalents given by WES,^[11] World Education Services, which provide qualification conversion services to many Universities, also converts British degrees to higher GPAs than the conversion used by UCL, if the guidelines for converting grades to GPA given by Duke University^[12] are used. Interestingly, this conversion is very similar to that given by WES and Duke, and that used by LSE and Oxbridge. Furthermore, the grade conversion from Fulbright Commission states that the equivalent of 70+ in Britain is a 4.0 US GPA.^[13]

The Fullbright Commission created the table below as "an unofficial chart with approximate grade conversions between UK results and US GPA." It should be noted that there is no hard and fast rule of converting the degrees, because different institutions compare differently.

BA(Hons) degrees attained in Britain are at the level of NQF 6 - where the BA and Honours degrees exist. MA degrees are at NQF 7 and PhD degrees are at level NQF 8. Other countries, specifically South Africa, equate different NQF levels to degrees: for instance, a master's degree in South Africa is at NQF 8, while a doctoral degree is at NQF 9. The reason for this difference in NQF levels is that South Africa requires students to undertake a fourth year, or an honours degree, between their bachelor's and master's degree. SAQA, the South African Qualifications Accreditation company, compares international degrees with local degrees before any international student continues their studies in that country. While the British degree accreditation and classification system allows students to go straight from a three year bachelor's degree onto a master's degree, South Africa does not do so, unless the student has proven research capabilities. South African Honours degrees prepare the students to undertake a research-specific degree (in terms of master's), by spending an in-depth year (up to 5 modules) creating research proposals and undertaking a research project of limited scope. This prepares students for the research degrees later in their academic career.

Progression to postgraduate study[link]

Regulations governing the progression of undergraduate degree graduates to postgraduate programmes vary between universities, and are often flexible. A candidate for a postgraduate master's degree is usually required to have at least a 2:2 degree, although candidates with 2:1s are in a considerably stronger position to gain a place on a postgraduate course and to obtain funding, especially in medical and natural sciences. Some institutions specify a 2:1 minimum for certain types of master's program, such as for a Master of Research course.^[15][16]

Candidates with a Third or ordinary degree are sometimes accepted, provided they have acquired satisfactory professional experience subsequent to graduation. A candidate for a doctoral programme who does not hold a master's degree is nearly always required to have a First or 2:1.

British medical and dental degrees[link]

In the United Kingdom, medicine is taught as an undergraduate course and, upon successful completion of the course, the graduate holds the conjoined degrees of Bachelor of Medicine, and Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS, BM BCh or MB ChB; chirurgery meaning surgery); in some cases Bachelor in the Art of Obstetrics (BAO) is added to the formal name of these degrees. The BAO is a tradition of Irish universities and so only the Queen's University of Belfast gives a BAO in addition to the bachelors of medicine and surgery in the UK; universities in the Republic of Ireland also present a BAO to graduates. However, unlike most undergraduate degrees, MBBS is not awarded in classes (i.e., there are no first, second or third class honours MBBS degrees). Individual degrees are marked as pass or fail, with some universities also awarding passes with merit. Results of final examinations in fourth or fifth year split the year groups into one of four quartiles. These quartiles allocate base points for NHS job applications where the top quartile awards 40 points, decreasing by two points for the second quartiles and again for the third and fourth. Distinctions can be awarded for certain parts of the course to the best students (who will usually have several merits already). Honours are awarded at some institutions for exceptional performance throughout the course, as well as a medal sometimes for the most outstanding degree candidates in medicine or dentistry^{[citation needed]}.

See also[link]

• Bachelor's degree
• Master's degree
• Scottish Master of Arts
• Latin honors
• Joint Honours

References[link]

v t e Universities in the United Kingdom England East Anglia Anglia Ruskin Bedfordshire Cambridge Cranfield East Anglia Essex Hertfordshire London University of London Birkbeck CSSD Courtauld Goldsmiths Heythrop ICR IoE King's LBS LSE LSHTM Queen Mary Royal Academy of Music Royal Holloway RVC St George's SOAS UCL Other Brunel City East London Greenwich Kingston Imperial London Met London South Bank Middlesex RCA RCM Roehampton UAL Westminster West London Midlands Aston Birmingham Birmingham City Coventry De Montfort Derby Keele Leicester Lincoln Loughborough Northampton Nottingham Nottingham Trent Staffordshire Warwick Wolverhampton Worcester North Bolton Bradford Central Lancashire Chester Cumbria Durham Edge Hill Huddersfield Hull Lancaster Leeds Leeds Metropolitan Liverpool Liverpool Hope Liverpool John Moores Manchester Manchester Metropolitan Newcastle Northumbria Salford Sheffield Sheffield Hallam Sunderland Teesside York York St. John South Bath Bath Spa Bournemouth Brighton Bristol Buckingham Buckinghamshire New Canterbury Christ Church Chichester Creative Arts Exeter Gloucestershire Kent Oxford Oxford Brookes Plymouth Portsmouth Reading Southampton Southampton Solent Surrey Sussex UWE Winchester Northern Ireland Queen's Ulster Scotland Aberdeen Abertay Dundee Dundee Edinburgh Edinburgh Napier Glasgow Glasgow Caledonian Heriot-Watt Highlands and Islands Queen Margaret Robert Gordon RCS St Andrews Stirling Strathclyde UWS Wales Aberystwyth Bangor Cardiff Cardiff Metropolitan Glamorgan Glyndŵr Newport Swansea Swansea Metropolitan UW Trinity Saint David Overseas territories University of the West Indies Bermuda College Cayman Islands Law School International College of the Cayman Islands St. Matthews University University College of the Cayman Islands University of Science, Arts and Technology American University of the Caribbean Saint James School of Medicine Non−geographic Lambeth degrees Open University University of London International Programmes Related List by size List by date of foundation (Third oldest in England) List by endowment Colleges within universities Degree abbreviations National Union of Students Rankings Undergraduate degree classification UCAS Category Commons List

Adam Deacon (born 4 March 1983) is a British actor, rapper, writer and director. He is best known for his lead role in the film Kidulthood.^[1]

Background[link]

Deacon was brought up by his British mother in Stoke Newington, Hackney, North-East London. His father left when he was two years old, and to this date, the pair have never had any contact.^[2]

Acting[link]

Although his acting career began with guest appearances in Ali G Indahouse and The Bill, Deacon's major breakthrough came when he landed a starring role in the urban drama film Kidulthood. Since, he has worked with Kidulthood writer Noel Clarke on a number of other projects, including the sequel Adulthood, spin-off 4.3.2.1, and the one-off television pilot West 10 LDN. When Deacon became increasingly frustrated with what he felt was a 'glass ceiling' above him in his acting career, he took matters in his own hands by co-writing, co-directing and playing the lead role in his own urban comedy, Anuvahood.^[3] The film is described as, "a pulls-no-punches, coming-of-age story, centring on one directionless hopeless 'shotter', who finds his true worth in the face of urban adversity."^[3][4] Following this, Time Out magazine labelled Deacon "The New Face of Youth Cinema".^[5] In February 2012, he won the BAFTA Rising Star Award for his work on Anuvahood.

Filmography[link]

Film[link]

Television[link]

Music videos[link]

Music career[link]

Deacon has recorded a number of his own songs and contributed material to the soundtracks of his films. He occasionally appears as a guest on Tim Westwood's Radio 1 show, introducing his own selection of tracks.

Songs

References[link]

External links[link]

• Adam Deacon at the Internet Movie Database
• – Film review: Adulthood, The Scotsman
• – Dizzee Rascal on Adulthood soundtrack
• Guardian interview with Deacon. "Adam Deacon: 'I was too street and too scary for directors'" 19 February 2012.
• "Adam Deacon: Streetwise star who knows the score". Interview with the Independent. 22 February 2012

Paloma Faith
Faith performing in November 2010
Background information
Birth name	Paloma Faith Blomfield
Born	(1985-07-21) 21 July 1985 (age 26)[1][2] Hackney, London, UK
Genres	Soul, pop, jazz
Occupations	Singer-songwriter, actress
Instruments	Vocals
Years active	2006–present
Labels	Epic Records, RCA Records
Website	palomafaith.com

Paloma Faith (born Paloma Faith Blomfield; 21 July 1985) is an English singer-songwriter and actress. In 2009, she released her debut single "Stone Cold Sober" and her debut album, Do You Want the Truth or Something Beautiful?, which was certified Platinum by the British Phonographic Industry. Her album stayed within the top 40 album charts for over forty weeks. The album spawned five singles: "Stone Cold Sober", "New York", title track "Do You Want the Truth or Something Beautiful?", "Upside Down" and "Smoke & Mirrors". Faith also recorded the theme song to the 2010 British film 4.3.2.1 and appeared on the charity record "I Put a Spell on You". Faith made her feature film debut in the 2007 remake of St Trinian's. She has since appeared in two more feature films, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus and Dread. In March 2010, Faith revealed that she was working on a second album. Almost two years later, Faith announced that her second album would be called Fall to Grace and that it would be released on 28 May 2012. The album was preceded by the single "Picking Up the Pieces", which became Faith's highest charting single to date.

Early life[link]

Faith was born in Hackney, London to a Spanish father and an English mother who split up when Faith was two years old.^[1] Faith was raised by her mother in Stoke Newington.^[3] As a child, Faith was encouraged to dance by her mother and she took weekly ballet classes in Dalston.^[1] After completing her A-Levels, Faith went on to study for a degree in contemporary dance at the Northern School of Contemporary Dance,^[4] which Faith describes as "the worst experience of [her] life".^[1] Faith then went on to study for an MA in theatre directing at Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design,^[5] funding her studies by working various part-time jobs, which included; a sales assistant at Agent Provocateur, a singer in a burlesque cabaret, a life model and a magician's assistant.^[3][5]

Music career[link]

2007–08: Career beginnings[link]

Faith's first foray into music began when she mimicked famous soul and jazz singers including Etta James and Billie Holiday, whom she admired and cites as influences for her own work.^[3][6] Faith met her managers Jamie Binns and Christian Wåhlberg of Lateral Management in 2007.^[7] Binns had been tipped off by the producer Peanut, a client who had recently worked with Faith in his studio and been suitably impressed.^[8] He met up with Faith shortly afterwards and was "completely blown away", later saying: "I wasn't sure what this girl was going to do – she was an actress and a singer – but there was just something about her in that artistic realness that when I came out of the meeting I called Christian and said, 'We have to do something with this girl!'"^[8] Although Faith had been looking for a manager, she was still wary about entering into a formal agreement with Binns and Wåhlberg. She instead wanted to build their relationship before any contracts were signed. The managers spent six months to a year helping Faith with the A&R process, setting up sessions, and guiding and advising her before Faith was officially signed to Lateral Management.^[8]

During her time at college, Faith worked in a pub where the manager asked her to front his band, which they later called 'Paloma and the Penetrators'.^[1] During a performance with the band at a cabaret show, Faith was scouted by an A&R man from Epic Records, who invited Faith to sing for the manager of the label.^[1] Twenty minutes into the audition, Faith asked the manager to turn his phone off and when he refused, she walked out.^[1] Epic A&R Joanna Charrington told HitQuarters "When she played a showcase for us it was clear that she was a star but the material was a bit generic. She didn't have the hit songs."^[7] Not being one hundred percent convinced the label executives decided to wait. During this time Charrington regularly checked Faith's MySpace page "to see if she had something that had a special direction or sound."^[7] After several months her attention was eventually piqued by "Broken Doll", which she thought was a well-crafted song with a "fantastic chorus and brilliant lyrics."^[7] Charrington told Epic managing director Nick Raphael "I think we should get this girl back in. She sounds like she is getting it now. We can help her get the songs."^[7] Faith revealed in an interview that the manager called her and offered her a contract saying he had seen many acts since and none had been as memorable as her.^[1] Faith turned down an opportunity to join Amy Winehouse's band and she began to write and perform her own songs.^[9]

Faith's first recognised work was the song "It's Christmas (And I Hate You)", which she recorded as a duet with singer-songwriter, Josh Weller in 2008.^[10] Faith's music is influenced by soul and jazz and her singing style has been compared favourably to those of Amy Winehouse and Duffy.^[11][12]

[edit] 2009–10: Do You Want the Truth or Something Beautiful?

Faith released her debut single, "Stone Cold Sober", in mid-2009 and it reached Number 17 on the UK Singles Chart.^[13] Faith's second single, "New York" was released in September 2009.^[14] The song made its peak position in early October, peaking at number 15 on the UK Singles Chart.^[15] Faith then released her debut album, Do You Want the Truth or Something Beautiful?, on 28 September 2009.^[16] Faith wrote or co-wrote all of the songs on the album in the UK, Sweden and America and recorded it entirely in London.^[17] It debuted at number 14 on the UK Albums Chart and later peaked at number 9, it remained in the chart for sixteen weeks.^[18] The album became BBC Radio 2's 'Album of the Week' from the 19 September 2009.^[16] In the same year, Faith appeared as a guest vocalist on Basement Jaxx's Scars album and on American hip-hop artist MF Doom's album, Born Like This.^[19][20] Faith released her third single, the album's title track, "Do You Want the Truth or Something Beautiful?" on 21 December 2009.^[21] The song did not perform as well as Faith's previous singles and failed to reach the top twenty. It peaked at number 64 in January 2010.^[22] In March 2010, Faith released her fourth single, "Upside Down", which peaked at Number 55 in the UK. To promote the album, Faith went on her first tour, featuring dates in the UK, Germany and France.^[23]

Faith performing at the 2010 Lovebox Festival

On 4 November 2009, Faith announced her first headlining tour of the UK and Ireland starting on 17 March 2010.^[5][24] The Times described the tour as being "full of theatrical artifice, but based on the rock-solid foundation of [Faith]'s sensational singing voice and a personality that sparkled like a rough diamond".^[25] Faith performed a live set for the BBC's Radio 2 Introduces... and gave an interview to the station's host, Dermot O'Leary.^[26] Faith also appeared on current events programme This Week discussing her views on the British education system with Michael Portillo. During this month she also appeared as a guest on Never Mind the Buzzcocks,^[27] performed the song "Upside Down" on The Hollyoaks Music Show, and performed her single "New York" on Friday Night with Jonathan Ross. She also appeared on the BBC's Later with Jools Holland, recorded on 13 October 2009, and his live Hootenanny on 31 December 2009. Faith performed at numerous festivals throughout that summer, including T4 on the Beach. "Stone Cold Sober" was used as the backing track for a Rimmel commercial starring Lily Cole and the B-side, "I Just Wait", was used in a UK television alcohol awareness advert.^[5][28] Samsung's Corby mobile phone TV commercial featured Faith's "Technicolour" song. Faith became involved in an album artwork competition with BBC Blast in November 2009, in which teenagers won the chance to work alongside leading artists, photographers and music industry professionals to create new publicity artwork for the singer.^[29]

During an interview with Mayer Nissim of Digital Spy in March 2010, Faith revealed that she was working on a second album.^[30], and that if she continued to make losses for her record label they would drop her.^[30] Faith's manager subsequently refuted any suggestion that her contract with the label was under threat, saying that, on the contrary, debut album UK sales of 500,000 without a hit single is an impressive foundation for a long-term career, and Sony are "smart enough" to recognise that and are 110% behind her.^[8] Faith, along with Adam Deacon and Bashy, recorded the theme song to the 2010 British film 4.3.2.1. The track, titled "Keep Moving", was released on 28 May 2010.^[31] In the same month, Faith performed at the Cheltenham Jazz Festival with the The Guy Barker Orchestra. The performance was broadcast on BBC Radio 2.^[32] In June 2010, it was announced that Faith would re-release an updated version of "New York" featuring rapper Ghostface Killah.^[33] The single was released on 1 August 2010.^[33] Faith released a live EP album following an appearance at the 2010 iTunes Festival. The album charted at number 11 on the iTunes top 200 albums.^[34] Faith revealed in a September interview that she would be releasing her new single "Smoke & Mirrors" in October 2010.^[35] The track was the final single from her debut album and its video was uploaded to YouTube.^[35] It peaked at Number 140 on the UK Singles Chart.^[36]

[edit] 2011–present: Fall to Grace

In January 2011, Faith was nominated for "British Female Solo Artist" at the 2011 BRIT Awards.^[37] At the ceremony, Faith performed "Forget You" alongside Cee Lo Green.^[38] Faith appears on the charity single "Hard Times" alongside Plan B and Elton John.^[39] She also recorded the song "Desire" with Graham Coxon and Bill Ryder-Jones for a Converse campaign.^[40] During an interview with Popjustice, Faith revealed her second album would contain more "agony and suffering."^[41] The singer also hoped the album would be done with one producer as she wanted a "solid piece of work."^[41] She explained "I love the beautiful side of things like that Tom Waitsy, Rufus Wainwrighty, Ed Harcourt sort of stuff, and in contrast I like all the OutKast production, Gnarls Barkley and 'Beggin' and all that sort of sound. Contemporary but with a nod to the past. But you never know. You might just meet someone and something else would make sense."^[41] In July 2011, Faith revealed her frustrations about releasing the follow up to Do You Want the Truth or Something Beautiful?. She did not know when the album was going to be completed and said the process was slow.^[42] She told Kristy Kelly of Digital Spy, "The album's not finished yet and I'm not sure when it will be. If I had my way it would be out tomorrow, but there are so many other people involved that nothing happens quickly."^[42] Faith also admitted being signed to a major record label made her feel under pressure to be instantly successful.^[42] On 7 February 2012, a writer for the Gloucestershire Echo reported Faith had been named as Artist in Residence for the 2012 Cheltenham Jazz Festival.^[43]

On 29 February 2012, Faith revealed her second album would be called Fall to Grace and that it would be released by RCA Records on 28 May 2012.^[44][45] Faith enlisted record producer Nellee Hooper and co-producer Jake Gosling to work with her on the project.^[45][46] Hooper told a writer for NME that he had not really heard of Faith as he was living in Los Angeles when her first album was released. He said Sony and RCA Records contacted him and suggested he meet her.^[46] Of Fall to Grace, Faith said "The new album has taken on a very cinematic mood. I am very excited to introduce my new sound into the world. Working with Nellee Hooper (Björk, Madonna) has been really inspirational."^[44] Faith told Dom Gourlay of Contactmusic.com that Fall to Grace is a personal record about a period of her life. Faith wrote and recorded the album in London.^[46][47] Fall to Grace was be preceded by the single "Picking Up the Pieces" on 20 May.^[44] It debuted at number 7 on the UK Singles Chart, making it Faith's highest charting single to date.^[48][49] On 4 April 2012, Alex Fletcher of Digital Spy reported Faith had joined The Voice UK as one of four guest mentors.^[50] Faith worked with coach Danny O'Donoghue during the battle rounds phase of the competition.^[50] She also performed "Picking Up the Pieces" during the fourth results show.^[51] To promote Fall to Grace, Faith performed "Just Be", a track from the album, on Later... with Jools Holland.^[52]

Acting career[link]

In 2006, Faith made her primetime television acting debut in the series Mayo. The following year she appeared in an episode of the BBC police drama HolbyBlue and made her feature film acting debut as Andrea in St Trinian's.^[28][53] In 2009, Faith appeared in Terry Gilliam's The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus as Sally, the girlfriend of the Devil (played by Tom Waits).^[28] She also appeared in horror film Dread as Clara Thornhill.^[5] Faith revealed that she was able to attend film auditions during promotion for her debut album, in the hope that she would land a role once all of her album commitments were over.^[6] In August 2010, Faith appeared in Channel 4's series Coming Up.^[54] She also appears in the short film, A Nice Touch with Dougray Scott.^[55] Faith became attached to appear in Wayne Holloway's untitled punk movie in 2012.^[56] Faith will make an appearance as cabaret performer, Georgia, in the BBC drama adaptation of P. G. Wodehouse's Blandings.^[40][57] She auditioned for the role and stated "I don't think they even knew I was an actress. I went to an audition and they said that they liked my interpretation of the character and I said, 'I'm just being myself'."^[58]

Discography[link]

Studio albums

• Do You Want the Truth or Something Beautiful? (2009)^[59]
• Fall to Grace (2012)

Singles

• "Stone Cold Sober" (2009)
• "New York" (2009)
• "Do You Want the Truth or Something Beautiful?" (2009)
• "Upside Down" (2010)
• "New York" (feat. Ghostface Killah) (2010)
• "Smoke & Mirrors" (2010)
• "Picking Up the Pieces" (2012)

Filmography[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Paloma Faith

• Official website
• Paloma Faith on Twitter
• Paloma Faith on Facebook
• Paloma Faith discography at Discogs
• Paloma Faith at the Internet Movie Database
• Paloma Faith at Curtis Brown
• Paloma Faith portrait competition at BBC Blast

Kevin Smith
Smith promoting Red State at Midtown Comics Grand Central in Manhattan, March 4, 2011.
Born	Kevin Patrick Smith (1970-08-02) August 2, 1970 (age 41) Red Bank, New Jersey, U.S.
Occupation	Director, screenwriter, producer, actor, comedian, author, podcaster
Years active	1994–present
Spouse	Jennifer Schwalbach Smith (1999–present)

Kevin Patrick Smith (born August 2, 1970) is an American screenwriter, actor, film producer, and director, as well as a popular comic book writer, author, comedian/raconteur, and internet radio personality best recognized by viewers as Silent Bob. Although primarily known for the View Askew film series, Smith also wrote, directed and produced films such as the buddy cop action comedy Cop Out, as well as the horror film Red State. His first several films were mostly set in his home state of New Jersey, and while not strictly sequential, they frequently feature crossover plot elements, character references, and a shared canon in what is known by fans as the "View Askewniverse", named after his production company View Askew Productions, which he co-founded with Scott Mosier.

Smith is also the owner of Jay and Silent Bob's Secret Stash comic book and novelty store in Red Bank, New Jersey. He co-hosts several weekly podcasts that are recorded at various locations around the world and released on SModcast Internet Radio. Smith is well known for participating in long, humorous Q&A sessions that are often filmed for DVD release, beginning with An Evening with Kevin Smith.^[1]

Early life[link]

Kevin Smith was born in Red Bank, New Jersey, the son of Grace (née Schultz), a homemaker, and Donald E. Smith (1936–2003), a postal worker.^[2][3][4] He has an older sister, Virginia, and an older brother, Donald Smith, Jr. He was raised in a Catholic household,^[5][6] and attended Henry Hudson Regional High School in Highlands.^[7][8]

Career[link]

As a filmmaker[link]

In an interview with Robert K. Elder for The Film That Changed My Life, Smith attributes the film Slacker as his main inspiration to becoming a director.

It was the movie that got me off my ass; it was the movie that lit a fire under me, the movie that made me think, “Hey, I could be a filmmaker.” And I had never seen a movie like that before ever in my life.^[9]

His first film, Clerks, was shot for the sum total of $27,575 in the convenience store where Smith worked. It went to the Sundance Film Festival in 1994, where it won the Filmmaker's Trophy and was picked up by Miramax before the festival's end. In May 1994, it went to the Cannes International Film Festival where it won both the Prix de la Jeunesse and the International Critics' Week Prize. Released in October 1994 in two cities, the film went on to play in 50 markets, never playing on more than fifty screens at any given time. Despite the limited release, it was a critical and financial success, earning $3.1 million.^[10] Initially, the film received an NC-17 rating from the MPAA, solely for the graphic language. Miramax hired Alan Dershowitz to defend the film, and at an appeals screening, a jury consisting of members of the National Association of Theater Owners reversed the MPAA's decision, and the film was given an R rating instead.

Smith's second film, Mallrats, did not fare as well as expected after the remarkable success of Clerks. It received a critical drubbing and earned merely $2.2 million at the box office, despite playing on more than 500 screens. The film marked Jason Lee's debut as a leading man. Despite failing at the box office during its theatrical run, Mallrats proved more successful in the home video market.

Widely hailed as Smith's best film, Chasing Amy marked what Quentin Tarantino called "a quantum leap forward" for Smith. Starring Mallrats alumni Jason Lee, Joey Lauren Adams and Ben Affleck, the $250,000 film earned $12 million at the box office and wound up on a number of critics' year-end best lists, and won two Independent Spirit Awards (screenplay and supporting actor for Lee).

In 1996, Smith worked on a script for a Superman movie. He did a couple of drafts but his script was dropped when Tim Burton was hired to direct. Burton brought his own people to work on the project. Smith still sees the whole experience on working on the Superman project as a positive one however; he has said that he was well paid and it was a lot of fun. (In April, 2009, Smith discussed his Superman experiences at Clark University—a YouTube video critic A.O. Scott of the New York Times called "extraordinary."^[11]) In the end, neither Smith's nor Burton's vision for Superman was filmed. In the 2007 Direct-to-DVD animation release of Superman: Doomsday, Smith has a cameo as an onlooker in a crowd. After Superman defeats The Toyman's giant mechanical robot, Smith scoffs, "Yeah, like we really needed him to defeat that giant spider. Heh. Lame!" This was a reference to a giant spider that producer Jon Peters wanted Smith to put in the Superman movie when he was attached, that was later put into the 1999 feature film flop Wild Wild West, which Peters also produced.

In 1997, Smith was hired by New Line to rewrite Overnight Delivery, which was expected to be a blockbuster teen movie. Smith's then-girlfriend Joey Lauren Adams almost took the role of Ivy in the movie, instead of the female lead in Chasing Amy. Eventually she lost out to Reese Witherspoon, and Overnight Delivery was quietly released directly to video in April 1998. Kevin Smith's involvement with the film was revealed on-line,^[12] but he remains uncredited. He has said that the only scene which really used his dialogue was the opening scene, which includes a reference to long-time Smith friend Bryan Johnson.^[12]

Smith's fourth film, Dogma, featured an all-star cast and found itself mired in controversy. The religious-themed 1999 comedy, which starred a post-Good Will Hunting Ben Affleck and Matt Damon, as well as Chris Rock, Salma Hayek, George Carlin, Alan Rickman, Linda Fiorentino, and Smith regulars Jason Lee and Jason Mewes, raised criticism by the Catholic League.^[13][14][15]

Smith at the 2008 Toronto International Film Festival

The film debuted at the 1999 Cannes Film Festival, out of competition. Released on 800 screens in November 1999, the $10 million film earned $30 million.

Smith then focused the spotlight on two characters who had appeared in supporting roles in his previous four films, Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back featured an all-star cast, with many familiar faces returning from Smith's first four films. Ben Affleck and Matt Damon appear as themselves filming a mock sequel to Good Will Hunting. The $20 million film earned $30 million at the box office and received mixed reviews from the critics.

In 2004, Smith wrote a screenplay for a new film version of The Green Hornet, and announced prematurely that he had originally intended to direct as well.^[16] The project, however died after the film was placed into turn around following the poor box office of Jersey Girl. Smith's screenplay was turned into a Green Hornet comic book miniseries.^[17]

Jersey Girl with Ben Affleck, Liv Tyler, George Carlin and Raquel Castro, his first outside of the View Askewniverse, was meant to mark a new direction in Smith's career. However, the film took a critical beating as it was seen as, in Smith's own words, "Gigli 2", due to the fact that it co-starred Affleck and his then-girlfriend, Jennifer Lopez. Despite Smith heavily re-editing the film to reduce Lopez's role to just a few scenes, the film did poorly at the box office. Budgeted at $35 million, it earned only $36 million.

In the 2006 sequel, Clerks II, Smith revisited the Dante and Randal characters from his first film for what was his final visit to the View Askewniverse. Roundly criticized before its release, the film went on to win favorable reviews as well as two awards (the Audience Award at the Edinburgh Film Festival and the Orbit Dirtiest Mouth Award at the MTV Movie Awards).^[18] It marked Smith's third trip to the Cannes International Film Festival, where Clerks II received an eight minute standing ovation.^[19] The $5 million film, starring Jeff Anderson, Brian O'Halloran, Rosario Dawson, Jason Mewes, Jennifer Schwalbach and Smith himself – reprising his role as Silent Bob – earned $25 million.

That same year, Smith was featured in This Film Is Not Yet Rated, a 2006 documentary about the Motion Picture Association of America process of rating films. Smith's interview was in reference to Jersey Girl receiving an R rating,^[20] and Clerks originally receiving an NC-17 rating.

Zack and Miri Make a Porno was originally announced in March 2006 as Smith's second non-Askewniverse comedy.^[21] The film, which began shooting on January 18, 2008 in Monroeville, Pennsylvania, and wrapped on March 15, 2008, stars Seth Rogen and Elizabeth Banks as the title characters who decide to make a low-budget pornographic film to solve their money problems. The film, which was released on October 31, 2008, ran into many conflicts getting an "R" rating, with Rogen stating:

Smith took the film through the MPAA's appeals process and received the R rating, without having to make any further edits.^[23] Zack and Miri Make a Porno was considered a box office "flop"^[24][25] in part because of "tepid media advertising for a movie with the title PORNO",^[24] and, in the aftermath of the film's "flaccid" performance, the business relationship between Smith and producer Harvey Weinstein became "frayed".^[26]

It was announced in 2009 that Smith had signed on to direct a buddy-cop comedy starring Bruce Willis and Tracy Morgan called A Couple of Dicks and written by the Cullen Brothers.^[27] Due to controversy surrounding the original title, it was changed to A Couple of Cops,^[28] before reverting back its original title, A Couple of Dicks, due to negative reaction,^[29] before finally settling on the title Cop Out.^[30] The film, which was shot between June and August 2009, involved a pair of veteran cops tracking down a stolen vintage baseball card,^[31] and was released on February 26, 2010 to poor reviews; it was the first film that Smith has directed but not written. With a worldwide domestic gross of $55,583,804, Cop Out is Smith's highest grossing film to date.^[32]

In September 2010, Smith started work on Red State, an independently-financed horror film inspired by the Westboro Baptist Church and their Pastor Fred Phelps.^[33][34][35] In February 2010, he talked about his project with Cinssu,^[36][37] Film producers and moguls Bob and Harvey Weinstein who had thus far been involved in the distribution of most of Smith's films, with the exception of Mallrats and Cop Out, declined to support Red State.^{[38][39][40][41][42]} The film stars Michael Parks, John Goodman, Melissa Leo and Stephen Root. Smith had indicated that he would auction off rights to the $4 million film at a controversial event following the debut screening of the film at Sundance but instead, kept the rights to the film himself with plans to self-distribute the picture "under the SModcast Pictures" banner. The film was released via Video on Demand on September 1, 2011 through Lionsgate, will be released in select theaters again for a special one-night only engagement on September 25, 2011 (via SModcast Pictures), and was released on home video October 18, 2011.^[43][44] Kevin Smith listed Mel Gibson as a role-model he looked up to, and his inspiration, for how he planned to distribute this movie, citing Gibson's The Passion of the Christ as an example of a successfully self-distributed movie.^[45] He further explained his decision as a way to return to an era when marketing a film did not cost four times as much as the film itself, a situation he has described as "both decadent and deadening".^[46] The film was released in January 2011. The premiere drew protests from a half-dozen members of the church, along with many more who counter-protested Westboro members.^[47]

Smith will direct a hockey drama-comedy based on the song "Hit Somebody (The Hockey Song)" by Warren Zevon. The song, which is about a hockey player famous for fighting in the rink, was co-written by Tuesdays With Morrie author Mitch Albom, who is working with Smith on the film.^[48]

Although Smith had previously mentioned other projects he had planned,^[49][50][51] he announced at the Sundance premiere of Red State that Hit Somebody will be the last movie he ever directs, and that he will continue to tell stories in other media.^[52][53] In August Hit Somebody was announced as a two part film titled Hit Somebody: Home and Hit Somebody: Away with part one being PG-13 and part 2 being Rated R,^[54] but later decided to make it one movie and hopes to premiere it at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival.^[55]

Smith further explained his retirement from directing, citing distribution politics, and the manner in which making films like Zack and Miri "adulterated" his own identity as a filmmaker, saying, "I don’t have the same passion for it I used to. I don’t have any stories left to tell." Smith further emphasized that he sees himself as a writer rather than a director, and that Harvey Weinstein developed his career as a celebrity auteur because "my films were never strong enough to stand up on their own."^[46]

Comics and magazines[link]

Smith has been a regular contributor to Arena magazine. In 2005, Miramax Books released Smith's first book, Silent Bob Speaks, a collection of previously published essays (most from Arena) dissecting pop culture, the movie business, and Smith's personal life. His second book, My Boring-Ass Life: The Uncomfortably Candid Diary of Kevin Smith, published by Titan Books, was another collection of previously published essays (this time blogs from Smith's website www.silentbobspeaks.com) and reached No. 32 on the New York Times Best Sellers List.^[56] Titan released Smith's third book Shootin' the Sh*t with Kevin Smith: The Best of the SModcast on September 29, 2009.^[57]

Smith at the 2008 Comic-Con convention

A life-long comic book fan, Smith's early forays into comic books dealt with previously established View Askew characters, and were published by Oni Press. He wrote a short Jay and Silent Bob story about Walt Flanagan's dog in Oni Double Feature No. 1, and followed it with a Bluntman and Chronic story in Oni Double Feature #12. He followed these with a series of Clerks comics. The first was simply Clerks: The Comic Book, which told of Randal's attempts to corner the market on Star Wars toys. The second was Clerks: Holiday Special, where Dante and Randal discover that Santa Claus lives in an apartment between the Quick Stop and RST Video. Third was Clerks: The Lost Scene, showing what happened inside Poston's Funeral Parlor. This story was later animated in the TV series style and included as an extra on the 10th Anniversary Clerks DVD.

Smith then wrote the mini-series Chasing Dogma, which tells the story of Jay and Silent Bob between the films Chasing Amy and Dogma. He has also written the trade paperback Bluntman and Chronic, published by Image, which purports to be a collection of the three issues of the series done by Holden McNeil and Banky Edwards (of Chasing Amy). It includes a color reprinting of the story from Oni Double Feature No. 12, purported to be an early appearance by Chasing Amy characters Holden McNeil and Banky Edwards. These stories have all been collected in Tales From the Clerks (Graphitti Designs, ISBN 0-936211-78-4), which also includes a new "Clerks" story tying in to the Clerks 2 material, and the story from Oni Double Feature #1. They were previously collected by Image Comics in three separate volumes, one each for Clerks, Chasing Dogma and Bluntman and Chronic. In 1999, Smith won a Harvey Award, for Best New Talent in comic books.^[58]

In 1999, Smith wrote "Guardian Devil", an eight-issue story arc of Daredevil for Marvel Comics, which was illustrated by Joe Quesada. Kevin Smith followed this by producing a 15-issue tenure on Green Arrow for DC Comics that saw the return of Oliver Queen from the dead and the introduction of Mia Dearden, a teenage girl who would become Speedy after Smith's run had ended.

Smith returned to Marvel for two mini-series: Spider-Man/Black Cat: The Evil That Men Do and Daredevil/Bullseye: The Target, both of which debuted in 2002. The former was six issues long, but after the third issue was published two months after the initially scheduled release date, the final issues were delayed for at least three years, prompting Marvel to release an "in case you missed it" reprinting of the first three issues as one book prior to the remaining issues' release. The delay in part was due to Smith's movie production schedule (in this case, work on Jersey Girl and Clerks II) causing him to shelve completion of the mini-series until the films were completed. He was announced as the writer of an ongoing Black Cat series^[59] and The Amazing Spider-Man^[60][61] in early to mid-2002. However, because of the delays on Evil That Men Do and The Target, the plan was switched so that Smith would start a third Spider-Man title,^[62] launched in 2004 by Mark Millar instead. While Spider-Man/Black Cat was ultimately completed in 2005, Daredevil/Bullseye: The Target remains unfinished, with one issue published.

Smith wrote the limited series Batman: Cacophony, with art by friend Walt Flanagan, which ran from November 2008 to January 2009. As announced at the 2008 San Diego Comic-Con, the series featured the villains Onomatopoeia (a character created by Smith during his run at Green Arrow), The Joker, Maxie Zeus, and Victor Zsasz.^[63] The trade paperback of Batman: Cacophony became a New York Times Bestseller in their Hardcover Graphic Books section.^[64]

In 2010 Smith subsequently wrote a six-issue Batman mini-series called The Widening Gyre for DC, and a Green Hornet story for Dynamite Entertainment, the latter of which was based on an unused script he wrote for a Green Hornet film project that never came to fruition.^[17][65]

In August 2011, Dynamite Entertainment debuted The Bionic Man by Smith, which was based on a 1998 script he wrote that was rejected by Universal as being "more like a comic book than a movie."^[66]

Television[link]

In 2000, Smith and Mosier teamed up with television writer David Mandel to develop an animated television show based on Clerks. called Clerks: The Animated Series that aired on ABC in May 2000. It aired only two episodes before being canceled as a result of poor ratings. The six produced episodes were released on DVD in 2001.

During the mid-1990s Smith directed and starred in a series of commercials for MTV, alongside Jason Mewes, in which they reprised their roles as Jay & Silent Bob. In 1998 he directed best friend Jason Mewes as "Gary Lamb – Ground Activist" in a series of Nike commercials. That same year, he also shot commercials for Diet Coke. Two years later, he directed "Star Wars" toy commercials for Hasbro. He has also directed^[67] and starred^[68] in commercials for Panasonic. In 2004 he also shot a public service announcement for the Declare Yourself organization.^[69] These advertisements brought Jay and Silent Bob out of their "semi-retirement."

On February 27, 2002 Kevin released a short film for The Tonight Show called "The Flying Car".

Kevin appears in and produces the unscripted series Comic Book Men which is set inside Smith's comic book shop Jay and Silent Bob's Secret Stash in Red Bank, New Jersey. The first season ran for six one-hour episodes,^[70] the premiere of which aired on February 12, 2012, following the return of The Walking Dead's second season on AMC.^[71] On May 9, AMC announced that Comic Book Men was renewed for a second season of 16 half-hour episodes.^[72]

Acting roles and other appearances[link]

As an actor, Smith is known for his role as Silent Bob in Clerks, Mallrats, Chasing Amy, Dogma, Jay And Silent Bob Strike Back, and Clerks II. He made a cameo appearance in the horror film Scream 3, and was featured along with Jason Mewes in several Degrassi: The Next Generation episodes, including a special, "Jay and Silent Bob Do Degrassi" (also as a fictional version of himself).

Smith also appeared in an mtvU show titled Sucks Less With Kevin Smith. The show gives college students ideas for things to do on the weekends. Smith also played the role of Paul, a cynical divorced man, in a Showtime television series pilot, "Manchild", filmed in December 2006. However, it was not picked up by the network.^[73]

From 1995 to 1997, Smith played small roles in the View Askew movies Drawing Flies, Vulgar, and Big Helium Dog.

In 2001, he appeared in friend Jeff Anderson's Now You Know. After an August 2001 appearance on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno to promote Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, Smith returned to the show for monthly segments as a correspondent. The "Roadside Attractions" segments featured Smith traveling to random locations around the country and showcased places like Howe Caverns in upstate New York and the Fish Market in Seattle. While five of these segments were included on the Jersey Girl DVD, at least twelve were aired on the actual show. Smith regularly appeared on the program to introduce the pre-taped pieces.

In 2003, Smith appeared in a cameo role as coroner Jack Kirby in the film Daredevil. In 2006, he voiced the Moose in the CGI cartoon Doogal.

In early 2005, Smith appeared in three episodes of the Canadian-made teen drama Degrassi: The Next Generation. In the episodes, Smith, portraying a fictionalized version of himself, visited the school to work on the (fictional) film Jay and Silent Bob Go Canadian, Eh! Smith wrote all his dialogue for the shows he appeared in. All three episodes were collected on a DVD entitled Jay and Silent Bob Do Degrassi. Smith and Mewes also appeared in two more episodes the following season, when they returned to Degrassi for the Toronto premiere of the fictional Jay and Silent Bob Go Canadian, Eh! movie.

From July 2006 on, Smith has guest reviewed on Ebert & Roeper, in place of Roger Ebert, who was recovering from thyroid cancer treatment. These spots have been notable for the arguments between Smith and Richard Roeper over certain films, with Smith often citing Roeper's poor review of Jersey Girl to discredit his review of the film at hand. On his most recent appearance, Smith compared Craig Brewer's Black Snake Moan to the works of William Faulkner.

In addition to appearing on Degrassi: The Next Generation, Smith is an avid fan of the original Degrassi series, Degrassi Junior High and Degrassi High and references to the original are present in some of his early films. He also appeared in the 2009 made for TV movie Degrassi Goes Hollywood.

Smith directed the pilot for The CW Television Network show Reaper. TV.com's summary of the show is "A twenty-something slacker finally scores a job as the devil's bounty hunter." He describes it as "less Brimstone or Dead Like Me and more like Shaun of the Dead than anything else". He went on to say that the reason he took the job was that he has always wanted to direct something he did not write, but never had an interest in doing it on the big screen.

At the 2007 San Diego Comic-Con, it was announced that Smith would write and direct an episode of the Heroes spin-off, Heroes: Origins,^[74] but the project was canceled because of the 2007 Writers Guild of America strike. That year, Smith appeared in a number of films. He co-starred as Sam in the film Catch and Release, starring Jennifer Garner.^[75] Later that year, he appeared as a hacker called The Warlock in the fourth installment of the Die Hard franchise, Live Free or Die Hard.^[76] At year's end, he appeared briefly in friend and fellow writer-director Richard Kelly's Southland Tales, in which he played the legless conspiracy theorist General Simon Theory. That same year, Smith also did voicework for the CGI film TMNT as a diner chef. He was also seen as Rusty (a friend of lead Jason Mewes) in Bottoms Up with co-star Paris Hilton.

Smith has also cameoed in the second season premiere of the sitcom Joey, where he played himself, on an episode of Law & Order in 2000 (episode "Black, White and Blue"), Duck Dodgers (2003 as Hal Jordan, voice only) and Yes, Dear (2004, as himself and Silent Bob). Smith appeared in the second episode of season two of Veronica Mars, playing a store clerk. He stated on his Web site that Veronica Mars is some of the best television work ever produced.^[77] Additionally, he appeared as Silent Bob in an episode of Yes, Dear, standing while smoking a cigarette as the end credits rolled.

Smith has appeared in five Q&A documentaries: An Evening with Kevin Smith, An Evening with Kevin Smith 2: Evening Harder and Sold Out: A Threevening with Kevin Smith. The fourth installment, Kevin Smith: Too Fat for 40 was broadcast on epix on October 23, 2010. The fifth Q&A, Kevin Smith: Burn in Hell also broadcast on Epix beginning February 11, 2012. The first is a collection of filmed appearances at American colleges, while the sequel was shot at two Q&A shows held in Toronto and London. The third and fourth were filmed in Red Bank, New Jersey at the Count Basie Theater on Smith's 37th and 40th birthdays, respectively. The fifth was filmed in Austin, Texas at the Paramount Theater. The first two DVD sets were released by Sony Home Video, while the third was put out by the Weinstein Company. Smith appears with Marvel Comics guru Stan Lee in Marvel Then & Now: An Evening With Stan Lee and Joe Quesada, hosted by Kevin Smith. The film is similar in tone to the Evening with Kevin Smith series. Proceeds from the sale of the film benefit The Hero Initiative, a charitable organization that aids ill or aging comic book creators.^[78]

Public appearances[link]

Smith's longest Q&A session took place April 2, 2005, at the Count Basie Theatre in Red Bank, New Jersey.^[79] The sold-out event was over seven hours long, took place from 8 pm through 3 am (which due to daylight saving time, was actually 4 am). Following the Q&A, he opened Jay and Silent Bob's Secret Stash for a meet-and-greet with the numerous remaining audience members, which ended around 6:30 am. Smith then hopped a plane and did another Q&A at the Raue Center For The Arts in Crystal Lake, Illinois, that night. Planned for two hours, it lasted just over five hours, ending a little after 1 am Central time.^[80]

In 2009 Smith made a sold out appearance at Carnegie Hall and the Sydney Opera House in 2010.^[81][82]

On the Internet[link]

On February 5, 2007, Smith and Scott Mosier began SModcast, a regular comedy podcast. SModcast has since spawned into a podcast network called the SModcast podcast network which began in 2010, it's own digital radio station called SModcast Internet Radio (S.I.R) in 2011 and an internet television channel SModCo Internet Television (S.I.T.) in 2012

Smith has a website, The View Askewniverse, which opened in late 1995. He also has an online blog, "My Boring-Ass Life", the contents of which were published in a book by the same name. Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back's fictional website MoviePoopShoot.com became real in 2002. It became Quick Stop Entertainment and was the home of SModcast until it was sold and SModcast moved to a dedicated website SModcast.com, which also carries the other SModcast network podcasts in early 2010.

Secret Stash[link]

Smith owns and operates Jay and Silent Bob's Secret Stash in Red Bank, New Jersey, a comic book store largely dedicated to merchandise related to his films and comics. The current location is its second. The store was moved to a defunct ice cream parlor on Broad St. after Smith sold the Monmouth St. property. The New Jersey location is managed by Smith's long time friend Walt Flanagan, who appears frequently in Smith's films. A second Secret Stash in the Westwood section of Los Angeles was opened in September 2004 and was managed by long-time associate Bryan Johnson, who has appeared in Smith's films as Steve-Dave.^[83] Smith had announced that he would close after his lease expired and Johnson wanted to resign, but eventually relocated to Laser Blazer, a DVD store in Los Angeles.^[84] In January 2009 the West Coast Store closed, leaving the east coast store as Smith's only operating store.

Controversies[link]

2010 Southwest Airlines incident[link]

On February 13, 2010, Kevin Smith was on board a Southwest Airlines flight in Oakland bound for Burbank when he was removed from the plane, allegedly over concerns he was too obese to fly safely.^[85] Per Smith, he was able to put both armrests down in accordance with Southwest Airlines policy, and both passengers on either side did not object to his presence. Smith was then removed from the flight after being told he was a safety concern. After being booked on a later flight and being offered a $100 Southwest Airlines voucher, which he turned down, Smith lashed out at Southwest Airlines on his Twitter account.

Southwest Airlines representatives later released two statements regarding the incident via their blog.^[86] In the first statement, Southwest claimed that Mr. Smith "has been known to (...) purchase two Southwest seats" and cited its "Customer of Size" policy which requires that customers who cannot put their armrests down purchase two seats. In his podcast, Smith stated that he regularly purchased two seats, and had done so the previous week, because he preferred not having to sit next to anyone, not due to his size. In releasing this statement, Southwest disclosed Smith's personal travel details without his permission. The first statement also claimed that the flight captain has personally determined that Smith was too large to fly. In its second statement, Southwest contradicted this claim, stating that the captain had not singled out Smith.^[87]

Smith later released an entire episode of SModcast devoted to the subject, giving a lengthy description of the incident, in which he claimed that he had been able to lower the armrests completely and comfortably and claimed to have been repeatedly lied to by airline personnel. He also referred to the airline as the "Greyhound of the Air" and vowed to never fly the airline again.^[88]

In his podcast, Smith stated that on his return flight a large female passenger was told to ask him if it was all right that she was sitting next to an empty seat he had bought between them, and it was suggested by Southwest staffers that she may need to purchase an additional seat due to her size, even though she had been placed next to an already-purchased empty seat. She was also the subject of an episode of SModcast.^[89]

Smith also released 24 video statements on YouTube further describing the incident.^[90] A year after the incident, the media reported that he had lost 65 pounds through controlled diet and regular exercise, including walking up and down a hill near his home in the Hollywood Hills,^[52] but Smith refuted this notion, saying that he had simply put on more weight and then lost it.^[91]

[edit] Cop Out controversy

A talent rep associated with the production of Cop Out reported conflicts on set between Smith and Bruce Willis, saying of Smith, "He smokes way too much pot. He sat behind his monitor. He didn't interact with the actors. The actors felt they were on their own."^[92] Smith defended his use of marijuana while working, claiming "I dealt with every actor who wanted to be dealt with on that set" and pointed to the amount of projects he worked on while making Cop Out to counter claims he was unproductive because of marijuana.^[93] Smith admitted in an interview that heavy marijuana-smoking had become an integral part of his work ethic after claiming that he watched actor Seth Rogen on the set of Zack and Miri Make a Porno use marijuana as a tool to become a more creative and "productive" worker, saying "The moment I start smoking, I start working. ... That way, no one could ever take it away from you."^[94]

In response to the critical drubbing his 2010 film Cop Out received, Kevin Smith lashed out at the community of film critics on his Twitter account saying, "Writing a nasty review for Cop Out is akin to bullying a retarded kid. All you’ve done is make fun of something that wasn't doing you any harm and wanted only to give some cats some fun laughs."^[96][97] Smith also implied on Twitter that he may charge critics for advance screenings of his films, a service which has typically been provided free; this subsequently ignited a strong response from some critics condemning his stance as "dishonest" and "disingenuous".^[96]

Personal life[link]

Smith is married to Jennifer Schwalbach Smith, and photographed her for the magazine Playboy. Their daughter, Harley Quinn, was born June 26, 1999, and was named after the character from Batman: The Animated Series, who was created by friend and fellow writer Paul Dini.^[98] They live in the Hollywood Hills,^[52] in a house Smith purchased from longtime friend Ben Affleck in 2003.^[99]

Although Smith was raised Catholic, he has said on "Back to the Well", the Clerks II documentary, that now he only goes to Mass on the day before he starts production of a movie, and the day before it premieres. He never smoked until his debut film, Clerks, in which he used the cigarettes as a prop, but never actually inhaled. In fact, he has said that prior to filming Clerks, he was a staunch non-smoker.^[100] He quit smoking cigarettes in 2008 after taking up smoking cannabis. Smith only began smoking pot at age 38 after working with Seth Rogen on Zack and Miri Make a Porno.^[101]

Kevin Smith is a hockey fan and loyal New Jersey Devils fan. Smith has also expressed an admiration for his second-favorite team, the Edmonton Oilers.^[102]

Filmography[link]

Recognition[link]

Bibliography[link]

Books[link]

Books by Smith include:

• Silent Bob Speaks (2005)
• My Boring Ass Life: The Uncomfortably Candid Diary of Kevin Smith (2007)
• Shootin' the Sh*t with Kevin Smith (2009)
• Tough Shit: Life Advice from a Fat, Lazy Slob Who Did Good (2012)

Comics[link]

• Daredevil: Guardian Devil (with Joe Quesada, Marvel Comics, 1998–1999)
• Green Arrow: Quiver (with Phil Hester, DC Comics, 2001–2002)
• Green Arrow: Sounds of Violence (with Phil Hester, DC Comics, 2002)
• Spider-Man/Black Cat: The Evil that Men Do (with Terry Dodson, Marvel Comics, 2002, 2005–2006)
• Batman: Cacophony (with Walt Flanagan, DC Comics, 2008–2009)
• Batman: The Widening Gyre (with Walt Flanagan, DC Comics, 2009–2012)
• Green Hornet (with Jonathan Lau, Dynamite Entertainment, 2010)
• The Bionic Man (with Jonathan Lau, Phil Hester, Dynamite Entertainment, 2011–2012)

Trade paperback introductions:

• Hitman: 10,000 Bullets (by Garth Ennis, DC Comics, 1996)
• Preacher: Until the End of the World (by Garth Ennis, Vertigo Comics, 1995)

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Kevin Smith

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Kevin Smith

• Kevin Smith on WikiAskew, an external wiki
• View Askew Production
• Smith's blog
• Kevin Smith at the Internet Movie Database
• Kevin Smith on Twitter
• Kevin Smith explains what happened to his Superman movie
• Huffington Post blog
• Kevin Smith at the Comic Book DB
• Kevin Smith at AllRovi
• Kevin Smith on Charlie Rose